Submitted by Alexa Perez-Krizan on the 2017 winter session study abroad program in New Zealand sponsored by the School of Marine Science and Policy and the Department of Geological Sciences….
Several nights ago, my classmates and I had the opportunity to stay in a Wharenui for one night. A Wharenui is a meeting house built by the native people of New Zealand. Those native settlers are known as the Maori people. We went to a Maori village to learn more about their way of life and their culture. We went to “Tewhakarewarewatangaoteopetauaawahiao” village, and yes, that is all one word. While walking around, our guide Kris was explaining how they live their everyday lives there. They live in an area of a geothermal valley, so there are vents releasing sulfur oxide into the air surrounding them, and it has a rotten egg smell from the sulfur. For me, it was personally a challenging experience because if you are not used to the sulfur oxide, it burns the back of your throat for a little bit, and then it starts to make your mouth salivate. There is also smog that is released from the vents and when the wind blows it can get into your eyes, and it is a hot smog that just encompasses you. If you are new to an environment like this, it makes it quite difficult to adjust to. As we continued the tour, we moved farther away from the vents, so it was easier to breathe.
We were able to view a cultural performance, which is common in their culture. The men perform something called the “haka” which is a strong dance and chant, the men use their hands to hit against their chests, they have weapons that they swing around, and they stick out their tongues and make their eyes bulge (that is probably my favorite part of the dance). It is an aggressive dance and if you see it up close, it seems a tad scary. They then had the boys in our group go up on stage and participate in the dance, and yes, I recorded the entire thing.
After that, they served us their traditional dinner for when they have guests. They cook their meat and vegetables in the the geothermal vents, it is called a “hangi” meal where the steam basically cooks the meat with the strong heat. Then to cook the corn, they throw it into a small pool with burning hot water for ten minutes. I was super timid at first as to how the food would taste, but it was one of the best meals we have had here so far. Once dinner was over, we made our way to the meeting house, the Wharenui, and it is a gigantic room that had beds laid out all throughout the house. There were carvings all along the walls, which symbolized the family. We all picked our cots and then Kris finished the night by telling us stories of her childhood. Embracing this culture was an experience that I will never forget, and I am truly grateful to have met Kris and hear all about the Maori life and the way they live.